Eighteen years after the assassination of Syrian General Muhammad Suleiman, Israel has officially acknowledged its involvement in the operation for the first time. Suleiman was shot dead in August 2008 in the coastal city of Tartus. At the time, however, Syrian authorities reported only his death, did not identify the deceased’s position, and did not accuse any party.
According to Israeli media, Suleiman was responsible for Syria’s nuclear project, which was allegedly being developed in cooperation with North Korea. He was also considered the main link between Iran and Hezbollah in the transfer of weapons and advanced missiles. The Israeli press described him as one of the architects of the facility in Deir ez-Zor destroyed by Israel in 2007, as well as one of Bashar al-Assad’s most influential advisers.
According to the published account, Israeli naval commandos opened fire on Suleiman from the sea while he was dining with guests on the balcony of his summer home. The snipers, positioned approximately 150 meters from the building, fired three shots, hitting him in the head and the back of the neck. The operatives then returned to the water and left the scene by boat without leaving any trace.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed the information in his memoirs. He wrote that the operation was carried out by experienced naval marksmen who approached the house under cover of darkness. Olmert also described Suleiman as Assad’s closest and most trusted confidant, with an office in the palace next to the president’s and access to the country’s most important state secrets.
After the killing, Syria’s leadership chose to remain silent. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was among the first to hold Israel responsible, emphasizing Suleiman’s role in arms transfers and events connected with the Second Lebanon War. The killing took place approximately six months after the assassination in Damascus of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, for which the organization also blamed Israel.
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What role, according to international investigations, might the facility in Deir ez-Zor have played in Syria’s nuclear program, and why did its destruction in 2007 become such a sensitive issue for Damascus? — According to international investigations and assessments by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the facility in the al-Kibar area near Deir ez-Zor may have been an unfinished nuclear reactor built with North Korean assistance and allegedly intended to produce plutonium. Israel destroyed it in September 2007. The issue was particularly sensitive for Damascus because of suspicions of a secret nuclear program, Israel’s violation of Syrian sovereignty through the strike, and the risk of an international investigation and sanctions.
How was Muhammad Suleiman connected to Syrian channels for transferring weapons to Hezbollah through Syrian territory, and what consequences did this have for Damascus’s relations with Israel and Iran? — Muhammad Suleiman, a close adviser to Bashar al-Assad and a senior official in Syria’s military apparatus, was considered one of the coordinators of security matters, including cooperation with Iran and the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah through Syria. His activities strengthened Damascus’s strategic ties with Tehran and Hezbollah, while also making Syria a target of Israeli pressure and covert operations. After his killing in 2008, Syria’s suspicions of Israeli involvement intensified, further complicating Syrian-Israeli relations.
Why did Hezbollah view Suleiman’s killing and the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh as connected incidents, even though they occurred in different places and under different circumstances? — Both men held key positions in a secretive Syrian-Iranian military and intelligence cooperation system and were connected to support for Hezbollah and its supply networks. Mughniyeh was one of Hezbollah’s principal military commanders and was killed in Damascus in 2008, while Suleiman was killed several months later elsewhere in Syria. Hezbollah therefore regarded the assassinations as possible elements of a single campaign to disrupt their shared infrastructure, even though no direct evidence of a common perpetrator or coordinated plan was publicly presented.
Full version: After 18 years, Israel reveals details of the assassination of Syrian Brigadier General Muhammad Suleiman